As what feels like a displaced fan at times, the highs and lows can be lonely! Thankfully, social media and the few like-minded friends make it a bit easier to spread the passion. Sports make us go through the whole spectrum of emotions – there is a brutal honesty in sports. At the same time, there can be a sweetness, a euphoric cry. Games that send you into an abyss (Super Bowl XLVIII) where the whole world melted away along with my Broncos’ chances. Luckily, it was quick. Seattle pummeled them from the first kick and the initial safety. It was like preparing for a slow band-aid but someone yanked it off once they grabbed enough.

Last year, it was revenge. Anything to see the Seahawks have their joy ripped from their hands. I remember the interception vividly. I surrounded myself by a good friend, new friends and strangers at a home. Consolation was that I won squares (moneys!) and a comeback for the ages in cornhole at half-time. Down 4-19 and had to cancel to keep going. It only seemed right that things continued to go my way. I recall only 1 or 2 Seahawks fans that were really only cheering against the Patriots. The other 28-30 people? New England fans for the day (I remember fans of the Vikings, 49ers, Packers, Broncos, Panthers) all watching intensely. Sports are rewarding for the quick, deep connections that are established – our brains groove the moments forever – people, plays, players, teams, date & time melded together for future versions of us to recall at the mention of a play, name, even a commercial!

I am spoiled. I have deep connections to generally winning franchises in the form of the Duke Blue Devils, Detroit Red Wings, Atlanta Braves, Denver Broncos, Bayern Munich. The Sacramento Kings are my lone-championship-less squad. But guess what? If it’s that great of a year, they’ll go all “We Believe” on the exact team that started it, and if I’m blindly biased (as all great fans should be), that will charge them to a title in just 7 few years! The Braves have won 1 title but were so good for so many years. The Red Wings during the 90s and start of 00s were dynastic. The Broncos had the late 80s and finally got over the hump with back-to-back titles in 97-98. Duke has spread their titles out since 2000 – doing their best when not thought of as the consensus favorite – hmmm out of the top 15 this year??

The Broncos, this year, have followed a similar pattern. Last year felt like a lot of pressure after the wipeout in the Super Bowl. New pattern – defense! 6-0 start with a sorry offense. A faux resurgence with Brock until that came crashing down during ugly second halves. Then the Peyton energy boost in the playoffs. So far, I’m just crossing my fingers. Health. A healthy defense for the first time in 4-5 years (as long as Wolfe is fine).
I couldn’t watch the 3rd Patriots drive inside our 20. Didn’t want to blow it. The offense looked so bad. The defense was the one that deserved to win it. Brady did a fantastic job of avoiding 4…5…6 sacks? Any of which could have ended the game. Gronk is a beast – and that truly worries me for Greg Olsen. But they got it done – big INT on the 2-pt conversion. Lots of pressure.

We go through a lot as fans. I won’t pretend to know what it feels like to be on the field experiencing it. But that’s the player’s jobs. For fans – it can be life. Luckily, I like to think that it’s just a joyful privilege that we can experience so much from watching a game.

I woke up this morning to news from the lineup optimizer on FantasyPros: “CONGRATS! You came in 14th out of 1,728 players in our DraftKings Lineup Contest. Claim your $20 DraftKings Prize: You’re all set. The $20 prize will be credited to the DraftKings use”

Great news! I only entered 2 lineups since I had forgot about it, and my Ravens stack did very well.

I have really enjoyed fantasypros – found them last year before the season so I have a pro subscription for seasonal fantasy and have found their optimizer one of my favorites. Nearly all of the data is pooled from experts across the industry.

First, let’s speak of Fanduel, where I played 3 lineups in a total of 6 contests. I had 2 H2H (one was free, other for $2), 1 50/50 league at $1, 1 DoubleUp for $2, another for $10, and a $4k tourney for $1. I won both H2H and the $10 double up. Something like $16.00 in fees for a simple winnings of $23, +$7 (~38%). The TeamRankings Football Championship Week 2 was my best scoring lineup – 123.2, good for 83 of 535. Lineup was saved by Antonio Brown (32) and Larry Fitz (33.2), Jordan Matthews garbage time TD (17), and consistent scoring from Bailey (8) and Texans D (6), but dragged by Brees, Abdullah, Lynch, ASJ.

So, after 1 week I am in the black quite a bit, despite an overall losing record! Who doesn’t like those tournaments?!

Last year I was going more off of a feel for playing and breaking even. This year, I will look for tournament opportunities for overlay and pad with a better performance on h2h, triple ups or 50/50s. Fortunately, for overlays (where value is much higher per entry because the guaranteed money does not meet the number of entries), I stumbled upon a number of sites that aid in finding these. Namely, Super Lobby! which combines Draftkings and Fanduel (among others) to show overlay in tournaments. Incredibly useful for the people who are trying to be smart about entry fees.

For those that are curious how I did this past week, continue reading. Otherwise, I will post who I’m looking at and what I’m doing for Week 2 in the coming days! Again, if you’re looking to play or take a shot: Draftkings link! – Remember to search for a promo code on your favorite fantasy / insider website to valuable premium subscriptions (Rotogrinders, 4for4, fantasypros, teamrankings). Fanduel if you prefer .5 ppr and Kickers